


Last Night

by Arel_Rhink



Category: Rhett & Link, rhink - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-11
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-21 23:03:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8263637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arel_Rhink/pseuds/Arel_Rhink
Summary: Link finds him and Rhett in an interesting situation one morning and believes the two of them crossed the barrier between friends and lovers the previous night.





	

The blurry room seemed to spin as Link opened his groggy, sticky eyes. The light streaming in from the window strained his vision and enhanced his throbbing headache. Out of all the times he'd gotten himself drunk, he had never felt so gross. He turned away from the light, and then jumped at the sight of someone pressed up beside him. His eyesight cleared up, and he immediately recognized his bed mate.

"Rhett?!" Link yelped, rousing the blond from his slumber. He groaned and stretched, eyes blinking rapidly at the sunlight. The covers fell lower down Rhett's torso, exposing enough skin for Link to notice that his friend was not wearing anything. "Are you _naked_?!"

"Speak for yourself, man." Rhett nodded his head to Link's torso, which Link then realized that he too was without clothing. He pulled his covers up over his hairy chest as a blush filled his entire face. His eyes darted around, silently trying to put the pieces together.

"Did we...? Did anything happen... you know... between us last night? Like..." His face flushed harder, practically burning his face. The idea of them acting intimate roused his core, but he tried to brush it away in case he was just blowing the situation out of proportion.

A smirk grew on Rhett's also reddened face. "You mean you don't remember?" he rasped. The coy tone in his voice gave Link chills. His jaw shivered as he tried to speak.

"Remember what?!" he strained. His hand clutched the covers so tight his knuckles went white. Rhett leaned closer with a lick of the lips.

"You don't remember me holding you, splaying you onto my bed?" Link gasped at Rhett's words, picturing the scene in his head. "I ripped your clothes off. You made these wonderful noises, and begged me to take you." He chuckled at the look of Link's confronted face. The man almost seemed to want to hear more, and Rhett was more than happy to feed more into the scene he created. Trying to hold his laughter, he took his hand and tickled the skin on Link's shoulder as he leaned even closer. "You felt so amazing, babe."

Link shoved the man off him, tumbling off the bed in the process. Without a word, he picked himself off the floor and scurried into the restroom, locking the door behind him. He held himself over the sink and gaped at his reflection. His hair was an absolute mess. He was in shambles. His own face suddenly seemed so foreign to him, as though he were no longer himself. His eyes burst to tears.

"Shit!" he cried, holding his head above the bowl of the sink. "My first time being... anything more than friends with him and I was too damn drunk to remember any of it!" He pounded his fist on the countertop, wincing at the pain it left on his hand. Looking back up at his reflection, he resisted the urge to spit at his disheveled appearance. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Link? Are you okay in there?" called Rhett beyond the door. "Listen, I'm -"

The door opened to reveal a naked, still teary-eyed Link. His eyes didn't make it to Rhett's. They seemed unfocused, as though his mind was somewhere else.

"I'm fine," Link mumbled. He covered himself as he searched around the bedroom for his clothes. While scouring the underside of Rhett's bed, something was tossed at him. He stopped to examine the articles of clothing. They were definitely not his.

"I threw your clothes in the laundry," Rhett explained. Link almost asked to have them when Rhett continued. "Trust me. You wouldn't want to wear them after what happened to them last night."

Link blushed furiously at the implication, and then pulled Rhett's clothes on him without any remark. The shirt was sort of baggy on him and the jeans were loose on his trim waist. Rhett found himself looking Link up and down, smiling at the sight of his best friend in his clothes. He seemed so tiny.

"What?" Link asked, self-conscious in Rhett's loose jeans.

Rhett shook his head, bringing him back to reality. "Nothing... I was just... wondering what you wanted for breakfast - well, brunch I guess. It's almost noon."

Link wanted to go back home, get his head straight before letting Rhett into his life as anything other than friends. He wanted to say no to the brunch offer. Then Rhett's eyes begged Link to stay. There was something behind those jade irises, and Link couldn't place what it was. He smiled at the taller man and replied with a sigh, "Can you make pancakes? I could go for something sweet and fluffy."

"I'm sweet and fluffy..." Rhett remarked softly, grinning with a blush at his ridiculous attempt at flirting. Link threw a sock at him, earning an uproar of laughter from the both of them.

Link offered to help Rhett prepare brunch. Rhett didn't let him near the stove, but he asked for him to get the table ready. When the table was set, Link placed the plates on the counter beside Rhett. Just as they clunked on the countertop, Link was grabbed from behind in a tickling embrace.

"AHHH! Put me down, you dork!" Link squeaked, wriggling in the larger man's arms.

Rhett giggled, hugging the man tighter. "I gotcha!"

"Yeah! I know!" Link chuckled. He continued laughing in Rhett's arms until he felt one of Rhett's hands reaching his chest. Heat rose to Link's cheeks, and his heart seemed to skip a beat. Link broke free of Rhett's embrace and adjusted his clothes in a fluster. "That's... That's enough..."

Rhett's smile faded from his face, and was replaced by a slight frown. He opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't get any words out.

"How are those pancakes coming?" Link asked. There seemed to be a forced stoicism in his tone. Rhett reached out his hand to comfort his dear friend, but pulled it back with a sigh.

"They're... fine," he replied, flipping over his current batch of pancakes.

After an awkwardly quiet brunch, Link figured he should head home. Before he could make it to the front door, Rhett held his arm and stopped him in his tracks.

"Link!" he called. The brunet halted and looked up into his pleading Jade eyes. "I can't let you go like this." Rhett moved his hand down Link's forearm and held his hand firmly. "Please. Just stay?"

Seeing the guilt behind Rhett's eyes, Link sighed, "Okay." He turned his head away, trying to avoid Rhett's eyes. "So... what now?"

"Movie?" Rhett asked with a hopeful grin. "I'll let you pick!" he singsonged with a smirk. Link shook his head with a chuckle, and then followed Rhett to the couch. He couldn't say no to his best friend.

Once their movie started, they settled comfortably on the couch. They sat side by side, hips brushing together on the soft cushions. Link's nerves jolted at the sudden feeling of something on his knee. He looked down to see Rhett's hand softly massaging his kneecap, gently sharing its exhilarating heat. His gaze moved up, seeing Rhett with his eyes locked on the television screen. Although the touch gave him goosebumps, Link let the hand stay there. There weren't any cameras to show the affectionate motion, nor crew members to judge. He had no reason to reject a friendly act... right? Surely there was nothing weird about it. Link also didn't want to make more of a scene than he already did earlier that day anyway. The hand stayed on Link's knee, comforting him as they watched their film.

Halfway through the movie, Link felt something heavy hit his shoulder. His furrowed brow calmed as a smile slowly stretched across his face. Rhett had fallen asleep. Link figured he was more tired than he let on, so he let Rhett sleep. The warm weight on his shoulder actually felt comforting, and Link had to keep himself from petting that fluffy quiff of dirty blond hair. He looked so tiny, and Link found it incredibly adorable. Too adorable to ignore. Link mustered as much bravery as he could manage and gently wrapped his arms around the sleeping man, enveloping him with warmth and affection. He didn't see the smile on Rhett's face as he continued watching the movie.

However, pressure in his bladder eventually convinced Link to get off the couch. The giant sleeping against him made it truly difficult to do so. Link carefully attempted to extricate himself.

"No..." Rhett mumbled, snuggling harder against the smaller man and pushing him flat against the couch.

"Good gosh you're heavy," Link grunted. "Get off! I gotta go to the bathroom, man!" Rhett snickered softly and climbed further onto Link's body. Link saw the familiar glint in his friend's eyes and began to brace himself. "Don't you dare! I know what you're thinking!"

"What are you talking about?" Rhett asked with a poorly hidden giggle. He crawled more, his body covering more and more of Link's as his heavy-lidded eyes locked onto the man below him.

"Oh I think you know exactly what I'm talking about!" Before Link could say any more, Rhett let his arms fall, plopping himself onto Link with a thud.

"Dang it," Link struggled to say. His face was half buried under the side of Rhett's head.

"I'm dead."

"Rhett...!" Link whined. "Come on, I really gotta pee."

"I can't. I'm dead."

Link huffed in frustration. "Okay, so what do I have to do to make it so you're not dead?"

Rhett giggled with a blush. His breath caught in his throat before he could speak. "I don't know, maybe a kiss?" He smiled widely at the brunet. Both of their faces turned bright red at the idea. In a panic, Link grasped Rhett's sides and brushed his fingers against his skin. Rhett squeaked and wiggled, giving Link a little more room to escape.

"Tickling seems to do the job just fine," Link commented with a smirk as he squirmed out from underneath the bigger man. Rhett gave up, sitting up and folding his legs up to protect his torso.

"That was cheap, man!" Rhett squealed as Link stood from the couch.

"I can't afford a kiss," Link joked, playing with Rhett's choice of words. He snickered at his own wit as he began sauntering away.

"That's not what you said last night..." Rhett teased, waggling his eyebrows at the brunet, who stopped in his tracks. Memories of what Rhett had said this morning came flooding back, and his entire face flushed at the returning visuals Rhett had created for him. Without another word, he marched back into the direction he was heading before.

He came out of the bathroom ten minutes later, returning to the living room to see Rhett napping on the couch where he left him. Shaking his head, Link tapped his shoulder to wake him up. The sleepy little couch potato blinked awake, gazing up at Link with a lazy smile.

"You could use a walk, brother," Link suggested. He offered his hand out to the groggy man, who gladly took it and followed Link outside.

Rhett didn't let go of Link's hand when they got outside. Link figured since they were just walking around the block once or twice it was okay. It wasn't like Rhett would have them walking around for hours with their hands held like a married couple.

Were they a couple now? To Link everything they had done since they woke up had been dancing on that edge of friendly and romantic. It felt so foreign, yet so nice at the same time. It was like a tease - a dream, really. Even though Rhett seemed to be giving him all the hints and opportunities, he couldn't help but feel like he had to hold back. There was just something not right about the situation, but Link couldn't figure out what it was.

Halfway down the street, they passed a young man jogging toward them. Link tried to let go of Rhett's hand, but Rhett didn't let him. He attempted to hide their intertwined fingers by pushing closer to Rhett, making it seem like he was making room for the jogger. After he passed, Rhett cocked an eyebrow at the shorter man. He scowled at the sight of a woman who looked like she was checking Link out. She primped herself as she came nearer. Defensively, Rhett pulled Link closer and snuck a little smooch on the top of his head.

Link stopped dead in his tracks at the kiss. The woman saw the display of affection and decided to ignore the two men as she passed. Her flirty pursuits had been thwarted, and Rhett was victorious. Link stared at Rhett, blushing furiously, yet also somewhat angry.

"Come on, let's go home," Rhett said, brushing off what just happened like it was nothing. Link supposed that if he felt more comfortable with their situation he'd handle it just as well as he did.

Without another word, Link let Rhett lead them back to Rhett's place.

Link decided to wait in Rhett's room while the taller man finished the small load of laundry he put in that morning. He sat on the edge of Rhett's bed, remembering him waking up there earlier. He recalled the words Rhett spoke to him.

"You don't remember?" said Rhett's voice in his head. "...Me holding you, splaying you onto my bed?" Link blushed at the mental image of Rhett, shirtless, almost as inebriated as he was, and staring at him with hungry, heavy-lidded eyes. "I ripped your clothes off. You made these wonderful noises..." Link imagined Rhett pinning him down on the mattress, touching every bit of skin he could reach. The Link in his imagination moaned and sighed at every touch, making the blond pin him down even harder until their hardened groins pressed together. "... and begged me to take you."

Link's mental imagery vanished with a jolt as the bedroom door suddenly opened. Link adjusted himself like he was just caught doing something he shouldn't be. Rhett caught on, frowning at the intense redness on Link's doe-eyed face. He walked over to sit beside Link, handing him his freshly cleaned clothes from last night.

"Sorry it took so long," Rhett mumbled. "I had to make sure I got the smell out." He turned his head away from Link and scratched the back of his neck.

"The smell?"

"It was pretty bad," Rhett replied with a low chuckle. His gaze returned to Link's, and his expression softened at the sight of those beautiful blue irises staring right into his soul. Rhett took in every detail of his dear friend, forgetting his place as he lost himself in Link's eyes and lips.

Guided purely by impulse, Rhett leaned closer to Link, fluttering his eyes to a close the nearer he got. Link's eyes went wide and he fell back to avoid contact. Relentless, Rhett launched after him, clambering on top of Link's lap and pressing his hungry mouth against Link's jaw. Not knowing what to do, Link turned his head away, giving Rhett more neck to explore. The blond continued nuzzling and mouthing whatever skin he could see. His actions overwhelmed Link to the point of panic. He was conflicted. His body wanted more, but it didn't feel right. There was something off about the situation that was flashing red flags in his head.

"Rhett!" Link squeaked quietly, squirming under Rhett's weight. Not hearing Link, Rhett continued nuzzling his friend. Link tried to speak louder, "Rhett, please!"

"Hmm?" Rhett hummed, his lips vibrating against Link's collarbone. His hips started rolling softly against Link's thigh. Link panicked at the sudden feeling of something hard rhythmically rubbing against him.

"Rhett stop!!!"

Rhett jumped back, letting Link wriggle free. His jade eyes suddenly widened at the realization of what he just did. "Shit..." His eyes avoided the man before him. He continued cursing at himself and his stupid mistake. He looked back up at Link, whose eyes showed both confusion and panic. "That... That wasn't supposed to happen. I'm sorry." He took a deep breath. "I forgot..."

Link furrowed his brows. "What do you mean you forgot?!"

"Link..." Rhett sighed. "We... Nothing happened... last night." Link remained lost and confused beside him, trying to make heads or tails out of what Rhett was telling him. "We never... yeah."

"What...?" Link asked in a soft puff of breath.

"You, uh, came over last night. You were the most drunk I've ever seen." Rhett paused, expecting an outburst from Link. Instead, he only listened. "You got sick all over your clothes, and then just threw them off and plopped into my bed, unaware that I was already in there. I was gonna get up and at least get some clothes on for myself, but you had already grappled me." Rhett chuckled at the last bit, remembering those warm legs wrapped around his thighs.

"So then why did you lie to me when I got up?!" Link asked, raising his voice in anger.

"I was just joking at first!" Rhett explained. "It was just for fun!"

"Just for _fun_?!?!" Link shouted before Rhett could further explain. He threw his arms out in frustration. "You mean to say that you lied to me and caused me distress for your own amusement?!?! My life is not a game or some... _thing_ to entertain you! Your lie really messed me up, Rhett! I really thought something happened between us... while I wasn't sober enough to remember it!!" Link paused to wipe the wetness out of his eyes. "And then with you flirting with me all day... It just didn't feel right, like there was something missing... As far as I remembered, you were only my friend - my best friend - and nothing more. I just..." Link dropped his face into the palms of his hands. His sniffles were like daggers in Rhett's heart.

Rhett scooted closer, placing a gentle hand on Link's shoulder. "Link... I'm sorry. I really am. I almost confessed about my stupid lie this morning..."

"Yeah. Almost! What stopped you?!" Link retorted, shaking the hand off his shoulder.

"Well..." Rhett began, "I... kinda realized that if I kept the charade going... I could at least pretend we were something more - that something did happen last night that changed the dynamic of our relationship." Link turned to face Rhett, who shot a small, shy smile. "Judging by the way you've acted today, I take it you don't feel the same way as I do."

Link laid his hand on Rhett's knee before the taller man could get up. "That's not true," Link said, barely above a whisper. He stroked Rhett's knee as gently as he could, and his shimmering eyes found comfort watching the path of his fingers. "I wasn't... grossed out or anything from what you were doing. I was just too lost and heartbroken to react the way I wanted to." Rhett's hand laid on top of Link's, stopping it in its tracks. "Honestly, I've dreamt for years about how our dynamic might shift, and about our... well... 'first time'... and the idea that I skipped both of those at once really tore me apart."

"I'm so sorry..." Rhett whispered, pulling Link closer to him. "That special moment can still happen... and when we really do sleep together for the first time, I promise that we'll both be sober enough to remember it." He looked over at Link, whose head was still turned away. Rhett lifted his hand from Link's, slowly reaching for Link's chin. "Look at me, Link..." Rhett whispered, gently turning Link's face toward him. "I shouldn't have lied in the first place, and you definitely don't deserve what I did to you. I'm sorry." Link's eyes finally met Rhett's, and he started to calm down more. "But hey... on the bright side, now we know how we feel for each other, right?"

Link hummed as a light smile stretched across his lips. Rhett smiled back, wiping the tears off Link's soft face. For the first time that day, Rhett saw a glimmer of something special in those deep cerulean eyes. He felt a sort of force pulling his face closer to Link's. His face was bright pink as he prepared to speak.

"Link...?" he practically whispered.

"Yes, Rhett?" Link asked in return, leaning forward himself. His lips hovered close to Rhett's.

"There's something I want to do," Rhett replied, "and I've been wanting to do it all day. Longer, even, if I'm being honest."

Link nodded his permission, knowing exactly what Rhett was trying to ask, and then pressed their mouths together like Rhett was his oxygen supply. Rhett froze at first, but he quickly caught up to Link. His arms wrapped snugly around the smaller man as they continued their kiss.

"You said 'when'," Link said once they separated. "You said 'when' we... you know..." Link blushed furiously at the words he implied.

Rhett waggled his eyebrows as he shot a knowing grin to his dear friend. "You call the shots, _babe_. You tell me where, when, and how you want it." They both giggled softly. "I want it to be perfect for you."

Link smiled and hugged Rhett tightly. "Thanks, Rhett," he whispered. "But I think I might need to go home for a while... get some time to recover before we become anything official, you know what I mean?"

"That's fine. I completely understand." Rhett nuzzled against Link's head before their embrace loosened. "Before you go, can I kiss you one more time?" Link smiled. His eyes gleamed with pure happiness.

"Sure."


End file.
